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Vaishali Institute Research Bulletin No. 4
excavations. 10 The earlist occurrence of terracottas are noticed in Period IB 17 (C 300-150 B. C.) from 1950 excavation and in Period I[18 (C 600-200 B. C., from 1958 excavation. But inspite of many recent excavations in north Indian sites. there is relatively little material to explain the evolution of visual arts in Pre-Mauryan times. And at Vaišali the archaeological psrspective of Period II is so indistinct that the Pre-Mauryan date for terracotta figures cannot be construed. We must begin with the 4th century B. C. as the highest limit of Vaišali terracotta--a dating supported by comparable materials.
Terracottas ranging between the 4th and the 2nd centuries B. C. are comparatively scanty. The excavation reports refer to only a few pieces. These include some fragmentary human figurines and serpents, and animal figures. Two other pieces pose some chronological and stylistic problems.
A group of female figures 19 (Fig. 1 & 2) represent the genesis of the terracotta idiom. They are characterised by bird-like faces, pinched up
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Fig. 1
16. VE, 58-62. 17. VE, '50, pp. 50-56. 18. VE, '58-62, pp. 1.53 ff.
VE, '50, pl XIII, fig 1 & 2.
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